Apprehension of repercussions unfounded: Wakfs Board

The Sunni Central Board of Wakfs has told the Supreme Court that the apprehension of repercussions if the Allahabad High Court pronounced judgment in the Ayodhya dispute was totally unfounded.

“There is no such apprehension among the general public of Ayodhya or Faizabad. The application [by Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, who wanted a negotiated settlement] was nothing but a step towards thwarting the entire judicial efforts for the last 60 years,” it said in its response.

‘Many attempts failed'

The Board pointed out that efforts to resolve the dispute by mutual settlement were made several times at the highest level but no concrete results could be achieved. There appeared to be no justification for non-pronouncement of the judgment even after 60 years.

In its intervention application, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has said the High Court should be allowed to pronounce the verdict as all attempts in which it had involved for a negotiated settlement did not yield results. No further attempt should be allowed for mediation. In the recent past, two Sankaracharyas were involved in compromise moves and the former President, R. Venkataraman, was also involved. But no desired result could be achieved, it said.

“No justification”

One of the oldest plaintiffs before the High Court, 89-year-old Mohd. Hashim, in his response, said there was no justification to defer pronouncement of the judgment as there was no chance of the dispute being resolved through mediation. He listed six instances when attempts were made to resolve the dispute through negotiations and how these talks failed.